Government says ‘door is open’ for talks as junior doctors begin three days of strikes

Published

1 year ago

December 20, 2023

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Jeremy Hunt has said the “door is open for constructive discussions” with junior doctors, as they begin three days of strike action in England over pay and conditions.

The walk-out started at 7am on Wednesday, after negotiations between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Department of Health broke down earlier this month.

Reports suggested an additional pay rise of around 3% – on top of the 8.8% recommended by the independent pay review body in April – was put on the table by the government.

But the BMA said that would amount to real-term pay cuts for its members following years of below-inflation pay rises, with only a rise of 35% bringing pay back to 2008 levels.

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A final offer is not understood to have been made by Health Secretary Victoria Atkins before the BMA’s deadline, leading to the union announcing fresh strike dates.

Junior doctors, who are qualified but are undertaking further training after medical school, make up nearly half of all doctors in the English NHS system.

Health charities and organisations issued a plea to junior doctors to call off the industrial action over fears patients could be left “stranded” in hospital over Christmas as they wait to be discharged.

The groups, including Age UK and the NHS Confederation, also said it would be “extremely difficult to ensure safe and effective care during this period for all patients that need it”.

But the BMA’s chair of council, Philip Banfield, said for patients to get the care they needed, the government had to “invest in the expertise required to deliver this”, adding: “This is the last strike action of 2023, which will have seen 28 days of action by junior doctors.

“The government is entirely capable of making the total for 2024 zero days – but it needs to make a serious and credible offer now that we can put to members.”

This latest round of strikes is impacting services across the country, with Cheltenham A&E among those closing during the action.

But the NHS has said emergency and urgent care will be prioritised during the strikes, with routine care the most affected.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the chancellor said the walk-outs were “incredibly disappointing”.

Mr Hunt added: “The health secretary has said her door is open for constructive discussions.

“When it comes to this government’s commitment to the NHS, we have 25,000 more doctors than we had in 2010, and we’ve increased funding by more than a third in real terms, so we have shown our commitment to the NHS.

“And more than a million NHS workers have recognised that by settling for a fair and reasonable pay deal, and I hope junior doctors to the same.”

But the BMA’s junior doctors committee said it was “extremely disappointing to be in this position”, with its co-chairs, Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, saying: “We had hoped that after a much-improved tone and approach from the new health secretary… we were close to a solution to this dispute.

“We have spent the last two weeks awaiting this final offer in the hope it would be the long-awaited credible offer we could put to our members. Unfortunately, we are still yet to hear it.”

They called on Ms Atkins to “show true leadership and leave behind the dogma that has been holding talks back”, adding: “She needs to be willing to talk to us regardless of whether strikes are scheduled.

“After so many missed opportunities in 2023 to settle the dispute, at a cost of £2bn to the NHS, surely now is the moment to conclude that everyone’s time would be saved by cutting out unnecessary posturing. Patients in need of care deserve nothing less.”

Further strikes are planned for January, with junior doctors due to walk out for six consecutive days – the longest action ever taken by NHS staff.

Junior doctors in Wales are planning a 72-hour strike from 15 January, while junior doctors in Northern Ireland are being balloted for potential strike action.

Staff in Scotland have already come to an agreement with the Scottish government.

Politics

US court pauses 18-state lawsuit against SEC after agency’s leadership change

Published

6 hours ago

April 17, 2025

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US court pauses 18-state lawsuit against SEC after agency’s leadership change

A US federal judge has agreed to pause a lawsuit filed by 18 state attorneys general and the crypto lobby group DeFi Education Fund against the Securities and Exchange Commission after all parties said new SEC leadership could make the action moot.

Kentucky District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ordered a 60-day stay on the case on April 16, noting a mid-March filing from the SEC that “this case could potentially be resolved” due to a leadership transition at the regulator.

He added that the parties must file a joint status report within 30 days.

Paul Atkins, a Wall Street adviser who has held board positions with crypto advocacy groups, was sworn in as the new SEC chair earlier this month, replacing acting chair Mark Uyeda and taking over from Gary Gensler.

The 18 attorneys general, all hailing from Republican states, filed the lawsuit with the DeFi Education Fund against the securities regulator in November, alleging that the SEC exceeded its authority when targeting crypto exchanges with lawsuits, accusing the regulator and then-chair Gensler of “gross government overreach.”

The plaintiffs included attorneys general from Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Montana, Indiana, Oklahoma and Florida, among others.

“Without Congressional authorization, the SEC has sought to unilaterally wrest regulatory authority away from the States through an ongoing series of enforcement actions,” the lawsuit stated.

DeFi groups drop case against IRS over killed broker rule

Meanwhile, the DeFi Education Fund, Blockchain Association, and Texas Blockchain Council dropped their lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service on April 16.

“The parties hereby stipulate to voluntary dismissal of this action without prejudice because the case has become moot,” stated the filing.

The lawsuit, filed in December, argued that the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule went beyond the agency’s authority and was unconstitutional.

On April 11, President Donald Trump signed a bill to revoke the rule that would have required DeFi protocols to report transactions to the IRS.

It comes as the SEC has paused or dropped several high-profile lawsuits against crypto companies this year under its new leadership.

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Panama’s capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees

Published

13 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Panama's capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees</div>

Panama’s capital city will accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and municipal fees, including bus tickets and permits, Panama City mayor Mayer Mizrachi announced on April 15, joining a growing list of jurisdictions globally that have voted to accept such payments.

Panama City will begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Circle’s USDC (USDC), and Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin for payment once the crypto-to-fiat payment rails are established, Mizrachi posted on the X platform.

Mizrachi said previous administrations attempted to push through similar legislation but failed to overcome stipulations requiring the local government to accept funds denominated in US dollars.

In a translated statement, the Panama City mayor said that the local government partnered with a bank that will immediately convert any digital assets received into US dollars, allowing the municipality to accept crypto without introducing new legislation.

Panama City joins a growing list of global jurisdictions on the municipal and state level accepting cryptocurrency payments for taxes, exploring Bitcoin strategic reserves to protect public treasuries from inflation and passing pro-crypto policies to attract investment.

Taxes, Panama, Bitcoin Adoption — *Source:* *Mayer Mizrachi*

Municipalities and states embrace digital assets

Several municipalities and territories around the globe already accept crypto for tax payments or are exploring various implementations of blockchain technology for government spending.

The US state of Colorado started accepting crypto payments for taxes in September 2022. Much like Panama City said it will do, Colorado immediately converts the crypto to fiat.

In December 2023, the city of Lugano, Switzerland, announced taxes and city fees could be paid in Bitcoin, which was one of the developments that earned it the reputation of being a globally recognized Bitcoin city.

The city council of Vancouver, Canada, passed a motion to become “Bitcoin-friendly city” in December 2024. As part of that motion, the Vancouver local government will explore integrating BTC into the financial system, including tax payments.

North Carolina lawmaker Neal Jackson introduced legislation titled “The North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act” on April 10. If passed, the bill will recognize cryptocurrencies as an official form of payment that can be used to pay taxes.

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Fed’s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Published

16 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation</div>

As digital assets gain mainstream adoption, establishing a legal framework for stablecoins is a “good idea,” said US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In an April 16 panel at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell commented on the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry, which has delivered a consumer use case that “could have wide appeal” following a difficult “wave of failures and frauds,” he said.

Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Powell delivers remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago. Source: Bloomberg Television

During crypto’s difficult years, which culminated in 2022 and 2023 with several high-profile business failures, the Fed “worked with Congress to try to get a […] legal framework for stablecoins, which would have been a nice place to start,” said Powell. “We were not successful.”

“I think that the climate is changing and you’re moving into more mainstreaming of that whole sector, so Congress is again looking […] at a legal framework for stablecoins,” he said.

“Depending on what’s in it, that’s a good idea. We need that. There isn’t one now,” said Powell.

This isn’t the first time Powell acknowledged the need for stablecoin legislation. In June 2023, the Fed boss told the House Financial Services Committee that stablecoins were “a form of money” that requires “robust” federal oversight.

Support for stablecoin legislation is growing

The election of US President Donald Trump has ushered in a new era of pro-crypto appointments and policy shifts that could make America a digital asset superpower.

Washington’s formal embrace of cryptocurrency began earlier this year when Trump established the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, with Bo Hines as the executive director.

Hines told a digital asset summit in New York last month that a comprehensive stablecoin bill was a top priority for the current administration. After the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, a final stablecoin bill could arrive at the president’s desk “in the next two months,” said Hines.

Bo Hines (right) speaks of “imminent” stablecoin legislation at the Digital Asset Summit on March 18. Source: Cointelegraph

Stablecoins pegged to the US dollar are by far the most popular tokens used for remittances and cryptocurrency trading.

The combined value of all stablecoins is currently $227 billion, according to RWA.xyz. The dollar-pegged USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) account for more than 88% of the total market.

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